Deborah Savo named December artist of the month

The Brigantine Cultural Arts Commission has named Deborah Savo the December artist of the month.

Savo grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and had a love of art from a very small age. Her mother was very creative and encouraged her to explore her creativity.

That creativity reached back in her family as Deborah listened to her maternal grandfather tell stories about a famous artist named Lazzaro Bastiani, who was listed in a document of their family ancestry. During a high school field trip to New York, Deborah saw a painting by this artist in the Frick collection. This peaked her curiosity, and she began to research her ancestor and found out that he was an Italian painter during the 14th and 15th century in Venice.

Highlights of his career include that he and a few other artists including Gentile Bellini were commissioned to paint a number of canvasses for the Oratory of the Cross. Some of the paintings hang in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy. Deborah was very excited to see some of the paintings during several visits there.

Deborah graduated from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia majoring in illustration with a minor in painting. She worked primarily as the art director for a toy and novelty candy company. Utilizing her design experience and imaginative illustrations, Deborah designed eye-catching games and packaging sure to catch a child’s attention at the checkout aisle.

Deborah retired a few years ago and is rekindling her love of oil painting. She does a lot of pet portraits that have grown out of her love of animals. Deborah has always admired the impressionist painters and their ability to portray light and expression in the simplest of strokes. Although she finds plein air painting very challenging, she’d love to explore it further.

Deborah and her husband have had a home in Brigantine since 2011 and love the island, spending most weekends there year round. Deborah enjoyed participating in the Brigantine Artwalk last summer and hopes to participate again.

Last winter Deborah did a series of portraits of missing children and is very honored to have the opportunity to share with you these portraits, along with some of her other paintings in the Artist Showcase at the Brigantine Community Center during the month of December.